Good afternoon South Melbourne FC players, parents, members and supporters,
I am proud to confirm for all of you Football Federation Australia has announced South Melbourne FC has progressed to the next stage of the process to expand the Hyundai A-League.
The FFA received fifteen bids from around the country including our own. We produced a detailed and professional Expression of Interest document reflecting the history of the club, its success in developing the game on and off the pitch and our extensive football facilities.
I am proud to have lead the A-League Bid Team through this period and the effort of these individuals has been exemplary. We have engaged a number of internal and external experts who have supported the team and their contribution has been critical to the position we now find ourselves in.
Together we are excited the FFA has acknowledged the status and capability of the club together with its potential to once again compete on the national stage.
This announcement marks the commencement of the Request for Proposal phase of the process. The Club will continue to engage with the FFA and their consultants Delloite throughout this process to further demonstrate our suitability for an Hyundai A-league expansion licence and position ourselves as the club of choice to join the 2019-2020 season.
I continue to be encouraged by our transparency throughout the bid process and our focus on the strengths and positive aspects of our bids. There have been number of other high quality bids for expansion licences and South Melbourne’s position as an existing operating club with ready-to-use facilities has been recognised in our bid being short-listed.
We have worked productively with the Victorian Statement Government, the State Sports Centres Trust (Lakeside Stadium), Parks Victoria, the City of Port Phillip and Football Federation Victoria to understand how we can further unlock the potential of Lakeside Stadium and the growth of football across Melbourne.
As we receive more information about the Request for Proposal phase, the club will hold an information night at the 1959 Bar & Grill in July to share what detail we can with our members and supporters.
I thank the South Melbourne FC community for their ongoing support of the club and its aspirations to once again return to the national tier of Australian Football
Bill Papastergiadis
Chairman – South Melbourne FC
Chairman – South Melbourne FC A-League Bid Team
South Melbourne FC A-League Bid Team
Bill Papastergiadis (Chairman)
Gabrielle Giuliano, Property Developer and SMFC Director Women’s Football
Luisa Chen, Investor and Property Developer
Martin Foley, State Minister and Member for Albert Park
Andrew Thompson, former Federal Sports Minister
Michael McEwan, Managing Partner Ogilvy Australia